


here we stand, in our own theatreland

by theamagic



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: M/M, Theatre AU, actor adam, father ronan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-02
Updated: 2018-06-02
Packaged: 2019-05-17 11:02:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14831060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theamagic/pseuds/theamagic
Summary: The second he broke the fourth wall Ronan knew what would happen next. Audience interaction. He dreaded this part and couldn't understand how people enjoyed it. He tried to make himself as small as possible so as not to be seen, but being as tall as he was, he didn't stand a chance.(or, the one where Ronan takes Opal to the theatre and gets caught up in audience interaction with cute actor)





	here we stand, in our own theatreland

**Author's Note:**

> This is oddly specific because something similar happened to me, but I didn't meet a cute actor. Whenever something remotely interesting happens to me I immediately think of pynch fic. So,here we go. It's very tropey. Enjoy??
> 
> The title comes from the song Curtain Call by The Damned

With pink ribbons in his hands and head, Ronan Lynch entered the theatre. Being a father involved tremendous work and doing things you wouldn't normally do, such as being covered in glitter just because your daughter asked you to. This was particularly strange, considering his all-black attire, back tattoo and shaved head. He was the clearest example of how much people could change, he went from an angst-ridden teenager to a somewhat stable young man to a devoted father in the span of less than ten years. His childhood had been a beautiful one filled love and devotion from his family. His house was a magical place where the most incredible tales were told and where magic was a possibility. Everything had changed the night Niall Lynch had died. His absence left a hole in his heart that couldn't be mended even after countless hours of therapy. He would never be that joyous kid again, but he didn't have to be. He just had to be the best version of himself and taking care and loving his daughter was the best of himself. The joy her presence brought to his life was inexplicable-he loved her more than anything in the world. The first time he saw her, just a little two-year-old-girl, he was overcome with such a strong feeling that still years later he could not describe properly. He just knew he was meant to be her father and he fought tooth and nail to be just that. It had been difficult, the process of adoption was a challenging one. He had faced many step backs - being young, just twenty-three, being a single father and being black and gay. Eventually, he was able to adopt her and that had been the happiest day of his life. Four years had gone by and he never regretted his decision. While he was waiting for the process to be completed, he had read all the parenting books he could get. They all agreed that during her upbringing, she should be as stimulated as possible. That's why he took her to as many recreational activities as he could during the weekend.  
This particular Saturday morning, they were at the local theatre. Opal had seen posters all over town and had insisted they'd go. The musical was called "Emperor's new clothes" and it looked like the kind of thing kids would enjoy with its bright colors and cheerful songs. He wasn't expecting much of it since they were all amateur actors, but Opal was excited about it so he had to suck it up. Once they were seated, Opal continued to examine her surroundings with the type of awe only children have.  
"Dad?"Opal asked, "how long until it starts?"  
"A minute less than last time," Ronan said  
"And now," she said impatiently  
"Ten seconds less, Opal, Jesus Christ calm down."  
"A-"  
"I'll beat you to it, five seconds less," Ronan quickly looked for a good distraction, but coming up short, all he could think of was "tell me about school."  
Opal took this to heart and started chatting about her teacher and all she had learnt the previous day. He was only half listening to her since she had already told him all of this the previous day, but he was happy she was distracted and wouldn't ask for the time for the hundredth time.  
A while later, a loud voice announced the beginning of the play by reminding everyone to turn off their phones. The five actors came on stage wearing period clothing. The emperor was wearing a cheap white wig and bright red clothes and bright red eyeshadow. The two silver and red guards were holding fake-wooden swords and shields. The jester in his brilliant green costume, a strange hat that almost covered his face which was in clownish makeup. The rather old minister with a fake white mustache that seemed to be falling off. As soon as they began singing, children, as well as parents, started clapping along. For some unknown reason, Ronan couldn't keep his eyes off the jester. Perhaps it was due to his costume or his energetic performance, but Ronan's eyes were glued to him. He caught himself laughing alongside the children since they pretty much shared the same sense of humor. There were also plenty of pop culture references he did not get but was sure the other parents appreciated. Almost halfway through the show, the jester started with his monologue. He was brilliantly funny and he had the audience in the palm of his hand. The second he broke the fourth wall Ronan knew what would happen next. Audience interaction. He dreaded this part and couldn't understand how people enjoyed it. He tried to make himself as small as possible so as not to be seen, but being as tall as he was, he didn't stand a chance. Making matters worse, he was sitting on the aisle. The second the performer started coming off the stage was the moment Ronan started praying to every saint he knew not to be picked. Opal, not having noticed how uncomfortable he was, started shouting "Him! Pick my dad! Here!" Ronan tried telling her to stop, but it was in vain, the jester had seen him and was walking determinately towards him.  
"Here we have a volunteer!" he told the public cheerfully.  
"Nononono," Ronan muttered rapidly "fuck no."  
As the man held onto his hand, Opal was pushing him off his seat. He tried to escape once more, but the jester had a strong grip. Reluctantly, he walked to the stage while saying every curse word he could possibly think of in every language he knew.  
"What's my helper's name?" he asked in a fake sweet voice.  
"Ronan," he said quietly, not wanting to do this.  
"So sorry, I couldn't hear that. What did you say your name was?"  
"Ronan," he said a bit louder.  
"Could you please say that again? My friends over here cannot hear you," he said while pointing to the children in the first row. Every time he asked a question he stepped a bit closer to Ronan.  
"Ron-"  
"Sorry..."  
"Ron-"  
"Louder, please."He was almost in his face.  
"RONAN," he shouted while people laughed.  
"Oh well, nice to meet you grumpy Ronan. Will you help me with my very important task?" he asked kindly, knowing he couldn't refuse.  
He was about to make a rude remark when he saw in the man's entrancing eyes and was lost for words. He had the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen and he was lost in the expression in them. Quickly, the man was in motion again making him dress up in strange costumes - a red cape, a multicolored shirt and lastly a plastic golden crown. With every item of clothing on, the jester would take his hand and make him spin. The children were enjoying it tremendously and although he couldn't see her, he could hear Opal laughing the hardest. He could feel himself blushing, but couldn't stop, he told himself it was because of the embarrassment he was going through but he knew the real reason. The man kept making everyone laugh with his silly jokes and he managed to make Ronan laugh more than once.  
"Everyone give a round of applause to our handsome helper." the jester said while pointing to Ronan. As he was stepping down, he felt a hand on his shoulder.  
"Wait, you forgot this," he said while holding the pink ribbon Ronan had on his head. Ronan was about to take it from his hand when the jester surprised him by fixing it for him. Ronan, blushing hard, stumbled off stage and went to his seat. Opal couldn't contain her amusement and was bouncing in her seat. Ronan just wanted to go home and forget about this experience and the feeling of the man's hand on his. Almost at the end, everyone had to shake their ribbons to be involved once again in the act. Ronan, not wanting to participate again, abstained.  
The play ended and everyone got to their feet to applaud the actors. It was no surprise that the jester got the loudest applause and the children's cheers, Opal among them. Ronan clapped along cordially, but noticed himself doing it more enthusiastically when cute jester was on his own.  
The actors were giving their autographs and Opal insisted they'd go and get them.  
"Opal, we don't have anything to write on, let's just go."  
"No, look! They are giving something over there," she said while going into the direction of the crowd. It was just his good fucking luck that they were giving out playbills for the actors to sign. Fan-fucking-tastic. He took Opal to get one and he was also given one. While they waited for the actors to come out, Opal started talking about the performance.  
"That was amazing! Did you like it, dad?" she asked happily "I liked the funny clown, and it was so funny when he took you to the stage."  
" I'm glad you liked it, gremlin." No matter how embarrassed he was, his daughter's happiness was the most important thing and she had enjoyed his humiliation.  
" I can't wait to tell Uncle Henry about it." Ronan groaned imagining the jokes Henry would make, he would never let this one go. After all, he still made fun of the crush Ronan used to have on him while they were teenagers and managed to bring it up whenever he could. In retaliation, Ronan would also talk about the time Henry got shit-faced and tried to make out with him during a party in their senior year. Good friends never let these things die and so many years had gone by that neither of them were upset about it, it was just fun to remember.  
The actors came out wearing their regular clothes and no makeup and were trampled by children trying to get their attention. Ronan and Opal started making their rounds and she kept telling them how much she had enjoyed it. All of them thanked her and eyed Ronan with amusement in their gaze. When they reached the last one, Ronan stopped breathing. Standing there was an astonishingly beautiful man. His dramatic makeup and horrendous hat had been hiding the godlike man. He had a dark fine-boned face, bright eyes and lips that made you think of kissing- or perhaps that was just him. He had brown hair that curled at the ends and looked incredibly soft. He smirked when he saw them coming.  
"Hi, helper." he said with a smile "and what is your name? Mine is Adam, " he said kindly to Opal while crouching to be at eye level with her. Adam, fuck.  
"Opal. Thank you for taking my dad"  
" Oh, it was my pleasure. He looks like he needed to have fun" Opal laughed.  
" He is fun, just not a lot of people know. He built me a tree house and we always have tea parties there."  
"That sounds like fun," he said while looking at Ronan, who, once again, was blushing.  
"Yes, and he always let me paint his nails"  
"Well, he sounds like an amazing father."  
"He is the best," Opal said confidently. Ronan had tried to speak in the span of the conversation, but couldn't find the words that wouldn't make him sound like an idiot.  
"There you go," the man said while handing out the signed paper "thank you for coming and for helping the charity."  
"Charity?" Ronan asked, "What's that about?"  
"Didn't you see the posters?" Adam asked, amused,"All the profits go to children's home society. I am not really an actor, I'm just helping the cause."  
"Oh," Ronan said,"At least you looked like an idiot for the right reason." If he said he didn't know why he had said that, that would have been a lie. He often acted like an asshole when he didn't want to show his true emotions.  
"We both did, helper." "The kids really enjoyed your twirling," he said that with a strange expression on his face like he was trying not to laugh at him.  
Ronan scoffed,"Of course they did, I'm the best you'll ever get," he tried joking about it but it ended up sounding strangely stupid.  
"In that you are right," Adam said, his eyes showing his amusement.  
Ronan tried not letting it show how charmed he was, this man was something else. For someone who claimed not to be an actor, he sure knew how to grab the audiences' attention and make sure he was all they could see.  
Ronan held onto Opal's hand and said,"Thanks for the amazing experience,"Adam rolled his eyes. "Opal, let's go"  
"Bye, Adam," she waved happily at him.  
"Wait!" Adam exclaimed just as they were leaving, "I didn't sign yours," he told Ronan.  
"Oh, don't worry ab-"  
"I insist," he said and took the playbill from his hand. He scribbled something quickly and gave the paper back.  
"Bye, Opal. Bye, Ronan."  
As they were walking away, he opened saw the paper and what was written on it. Adam's phone number.  
Ronan looked back and found Adam already looking at him, smiling. Ronan shyly smiled back and walked away. Who would have thought this old theatre was the place of a god who wanted Ronan to call him. Smiling, he walked towards his car thinking about how he was going to ask Adam out.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if you liked it, it's my first ever fic. S/o to Pan who was the first reader and those who pushed me to upload on twitter.
> 
> If you want to follow me on tw @a_parishh


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